The Worlds of the 15th Century
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Transcript The Worlds of the 15th Century
The Worlds of the
Century
AP World History Notes
Chapter 13
th
15
Paleolithic Persistence
Paleolithic (old stone-age)
peoples still existed in the 15th
century
Hunting and gathering societies
Where? Australia, much of
Siberia, the arctic coastlands,
and parts of Africa and the
Americas
Agricultural Village Societies
Small village-based communities
organized by kinship relations
Agricultural
No incorporation into larger
empires or civilizations
Where? much of North
America, parts of the Amazon
River basin, Southeast Asia, and
Africa south of the equator
Agricultural Village Societies
No oppressive
political authority
No class
inequalities
No seclusion of
women
The Igbo peoples of West Africa
Herding Peoples
Nomadic pastoral peoples
Had more direct and dramatic
contact with larger civilizations
than agricultural village
societies or hunter-gatherers
Where? Central Asia/the
steppe, parts of Africa
Arguably the most significant =
the Mongols
Timur
Turkic warrior who tried to restore
the Mongol Empire in the late 14th
& early 15th centuries
Devastation once again to Russia,
Persia, and India
Died (in 1405) while preparing an
invasion of China
Empire didn’t last conflict among
his successors
Last great military success of
Central Asian nomads
Ming China (1368-1644)
Rebuilt strong central
government
Reinstated civil service
examinations and made them
even harder
Increase in food and trade
production
Increase in population
Ming China
Capital = Beijing
Emperor Yongle built the
Forbidden City =
magnificent imperial
residence
Also built the Temple of
Heaven = where rulers
performed Confucian-based
rituals to ensure the wellbeing of Chinese society
Ming China
Focus = repairing the damage
caused by Mongol rule
Restored millions of acres of
cultivation
Rebuilt: canals, reservoirs, and
irrigation systems
Planted millions of trees to
reforest China
Chinese Exploration
China undertook large and
impressive maritime
expeditions
Largest = launched in 1405 and
led by Zheng He
300 ships; 27,000 crew
members; variety of
different people on board
He made 7 voyages between
1405 and 1433
Voyages of Zheng He
Chinese Exploration
Goals of Chinese exploration:
Enroll distant peoples and states
in the Chinese tribute system
Bring back exotic goods from
foreign lands (ex: zebras, giraffes,
etc.)
Establish Chinese power and
prestige in the Indian Ocean
Exert Chinese control over
foreign trade
Chinese Exploration
Abrupt and deliberate end to Chinese exploration in
1433
WHY?
Death of Emperor Yongle = chief supporter
Many officials saw expeditions as a waste of
money and resources
Believed focus should be on real threat =
nomads to the north